Mechanism analysis on flow excursion of a natural circulation with low steam quality

Flow excursion was observed on the natural circulation test loop HRTL-5, which simulates the geometry and system design of the 5 MW nuclear heating reactor. By means of self-developed computational codes, a set of tools used for analyzing the flow characteristics of the natural circulation have been presented, including the characteristic curves, operational curve and the bifurcation curve. The two-dimensional disturbance analysis is adopted to explain the mechanism of the flow excursion. Analytical result shows: (1) flow excursion can occur in a natural circulation system at a suitable geometry and thermal–hydraulic conditions. (2) Characteristic curves, operational curve, bifurcation curve, and the two-dimensional disturbance analysis are the available method to analyze the flow excursion of the natural circulation. (3) The flow excursion is prior to the low steam quality density wave oscillation. (4) The onset of the flow excursion is the tangency point of the drive force curve and the flow resistance curve. (5) To operate at low heat flux to increase the inlet temperature is the effectual approach to transfer from the pressurized water state to the boiling water state, in which the flow excursion and the low steam quality density wave oscillation can be avoided.     

Flow excursion phenomenon and its mechanism in natural circulation

An experiment was performed on the test loop (HRTL-5), which simulates the geometry and system design of a 5-MW nuclear heating reactor. In a wide range of inlet subcoolings, different flow modes, such as single-phase stable flow, subcooled boiling stable flow, subcooled boiling static flow excursion, density-wave oscillation and stable two-phase flow in the natural circulation system have been described. The phenomenon and mechanism of the static flow-excursion, which has never been studied well on this field, is especially interpreted. The experimental results show that, in the process of flow excursion, the mass flow rate and the inlet temperature decreases, while the exit temperature increases smoothly. As the process of the excursion continues for about 1 h, short period dynamic flow oscillation occurs, which can only be seen in the process of this static flow excursion, and has also never been studied well. These static and dynamic flow instabilities combine together and continue for about 2 h, then a point is reached, at which the static flow excursion disappears, but the dynamic flow oscillation continues. The mechanism of the static flow excursion is interpreted through two sets of curves for flow resistance pressure drop and driven head in natural circulation, and one curve for the natural circulation operation under special thermohydraulic condition. The study of the flow excursion and its concerned dynamic flow oscillation is of great significance for the development of the nuclear heating reactor under natural circulation.     

低压低干度自然循环流量漂移分析

在 5MW核供热堆全尺寸全参数模拟试验回路HRTL 5上进行的实验中 ,观察到在一定条件下系统发生静态流量漂移的同时 ,伴随动态流量振荡。本文总结了HRTL 5模拟试验回路上的实验研究结果 ,分析了低压低干度自然循环系统的特点、欠热沸腾和闪蒸的作用机理 ,较完整地描述了自然循环流量漂移的整个过程。分析结果表明 :1 )在自然循环系统中 ,欠热沸腾和闪蒸对流动稳定性具有重要作用 ;2 )自然循环流量漂移是一个长热工过程 ,动态振荡也可以发生在静态流量漂移过程中 ;3 )在静态流量漂移的发生、发展并向动态振荡转变的过程中 ,先是欠热沸腾占主导地位 ,然后逐渐转变为闪蒸占主导地位 ,最后主要表现为密度波振荡的形式。自然循环流量漂移对 5MW堆的设计、安全分析以及升级开发具有重要价值。     

低干度自然循环流量漂移的特征曲线图谱分析

在5MW低温核供热堆全模拟试验回路(HRTL-5)上,实验观察到了低干度自然循环条件下的流量漂移现象.通过一个考虑了加热段欠热沸腾、上升段冷凝、闪蒸等物理过程的两相流动数学模型,编制了相应的计算程序,获得了自然循环特征曲线图谱及其运行曲线,确定了自然循环分岔图和静态不稳定边界图,进而提出了通过自然循环特征曲线图谱研究流量漂移的分析方法.分析表明:特征曲线图谱方法是研究自然循环静态不稳定的有效手段.增大系统压力、减小热流密度、增加入口单相阻力、减小出口两相阻力有利于避免自然循环流量漂移的发生.     

强迫循环并联通道流量漂移现象研究

使用RELAP5程序对垂直并联环隙窄缝通道流量漂移现象进行研究,分析了强迫循环并联通道流量漂移现象的形成过程及其原因,研究了主要运行参数对垂直并联环隙窄缝通道流量漂移现象的影响。结果表明:增大窄缝间隙,降低入口欠热度,增大系统压力,减小热流密度,增加入口单相阻力,减小出口两相阻力均可减小通道压降-流量特性曲线的斜率,从而提高系统的稳定性,避免流量漂移现象的发生。     

Characteristics of Type-I Density Wave Oscillations in a Natural Circulation BWR at Relatively High Pressure

Experiments were conducted to investigate two-phase flow instabilities in a boiling natural circulation loop with a chimney at high pressure. The SIRIUS-N facility was designed to have non-dimensional values which are nearly equal to those of a typical natural circulation BWR. The observed oscillations are found to be density wave oscillations, since the void fractions in the chimney inlet and exit are out of phase. They belong to the Type-I category, since they occur at low flow qualities, according to the Fukuda—Kobori's classification. Moreover, the oscillation period correlates well with the passing time of bubbles in the chimney section regardless of the system pressure, the heat flux, and the inlet subcooling. Two distinct phenomena are found in relation between the oscillation period and liquid passing time in the chimney, indicating that the driving mechanisms of the instabilities are different between low and high pressures. Stability maps were obtained in reference to the inlet subcooling and the heat flux at the system pressures of 1, 2, 4, and 7.2 MPa. The flow became stable below a certain heat flux regardless of the channel inlet subcooling. The stable region enlarges with increasing system pressure. Thus, the stability margin becomes larger in a startup process of a reactor by pressurizing the reactor sufficiently before withdrawing the control rods. The obtained stability map demonstrates that the nominal operating condition of the ESBWR has a significant stability margin to the unstable region.     

Two-phase instability analysis in natural circulation loops of China advanced research reactor

In this paper, two-phase flow instability in natural circulation loops of China Advanced Research Reactor (CARR) has been investigated. CARR is a low pressure and low power density research reactor. A natural circulation instability analysis model is developed for the natural circulation loop of CARR. The homogeneous flow model is used to establish the system control equations. The non-uniform heating and subcooled boiling heat transfer is included. The accumulation heat of the wall is also included. Numerical method of Gear is employed to solve the system equations documented in terms of ordinary differential equations. According to the calculation results, stability maps of the natural circulation loop, which confirm the presence of an instability region under the conditions of low equilibrium quality in the outlet and low pressure, are obtained. It is a special kind of density wave oscillation (DWO) that occurs in very low equilibrium quality region with the characteristics of geysering and ‘Type-I’ DWO at the same time. The calculation results show such oscillation course clearly. The variations of the mass flow rate, the pressure drop and the boiling boundary are analyzed separately. Especially, the phase-space trajectory of the boiling boundary and the mass flow rate is discussed. Finally the oscillation frequency is discussed. The calculated results have important significance for the safety operation and accidental analysis of CARR.     

低压高过冷度下自然循环流动不稳定性实验研究

对具有长直上升段的自然循环系统,开展了流动不稳定性实验研究。同时,详细分析了低压、高入口过冷度条件下典型的流动不稳定现象。实验表明：自然循环系统的结构、流体的热边界条件会影响自然循环的运行特性及流动不稳定性类型。较高入口过冷度下,高热流密度导致系统脱离稳态后,很难重新回到稳定的两相自然循环流动状态。随着热流密度的提高,系统会经历间歇沸腾、复合动态流动不稳定性等状态。依据实验结果得到了高入口过冷度下的不稳定性边界图。在两相振荡期间,自然循环驱动压头和回路阻力的主要影响因素集中在长直上升段和加热段。加热段出口积聚的大量气泡对上、下游流体的强烈挤压作用是流量大幅振荡及逆流的主要原因。     

Experimental simulation study on start-up of the 5 MW nuclear heating reactor

An experimental simulation study on the start-up of a low temperature, natural circulation nuclear heating reactor (5 MW developed by the Institute of Nuclear Energy of Tsinghua University, Beijing) is presented. The experiment was performed on the test loop (HRTL-5), which simulates the geometry and system design of the 5 MW reactor. The manifestation of different kinds of two-phase flow instability, namely geysering, flashing instability and low steam quality density wave instability on the start-up are described. The mechanism of flashing instability, which has never been well studied in this field, is especially interpreted. Based on the study of these instabilities, it is suggested that the start-up process, from initial condition to boiling operation condition, should consist of three steps: increasing of initial pressure by means of a noncondensable gas (N₂), start-up of the reactor at this pressurized condition (single-phase regime operation), and transition to a lower pressure, boiling operation. Three transition methods are discussed. As a result of these studies, the method of transition with low heat flux and low inlet subcooling is proposed. A stable start-up process of the 5MW reactor is achieved by careful selection of the thermohydraulic parameters.     

低压自然循环复合流量脉动实验研究

在低压流动沸腾不稳定性实验中,研究了自然循环流动在不同入口过冷度下的演化过程。对实验中的流动沸腾不稳定性入口流量信号进行快速傅里叶变换,基于振幅和频率特性区分了3种流动脉动模式：小幅流量脉动、复合流量脉动和逆流。分析了加热功率和入口过冷度对自然循环不稳定性的影响。根据加热段出口水温变化得到了出口的流型变化,当流量波动振幅较小时加热段出口流体始终是饱和状态,而当流量波动振幅较大时,加热段出口为单相液体和两相混合物交替通过。给出了这3种流量脉动的边界图,分析了热流密度和入口过冷度对流量脉动模式的影响。结果表明：出口含气率大于0时发生流动不稳定性,热流密度达到间歇干涸型临界热流密度时发生逆流。     

Numerical study of nuclear coupled two-phase flow instability in natural circulation system under low pressure and low quality

Based on the one-dimension two-phase drift flow model, the numerical simulation of two-phase flow stability characteristic on the test loop (HRTL-5) for 5 MW heating reactor (developed by the Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology of Tsinghua University, Beijing) is performed with and without coupled point neutron kinetics. The density wave oscillation instability is analyzed in the system under low pressure at 1.5 MPa and low steam quality less than 10%. The effect of inlet subcooling and heating flux on the system instability is simulated under the system pressure P_sys = 1.5 MPa. The numerical results show that there exist two instability inlet subcooling boundaries at different heat flux. The numerical results show good agreement with the experimental results on HRTL-5 without consideration of point neutron kinetics. If coupled with point neutron kinetics, the system will exhibit little difference on instability boundaries from that without considering the nuclear characteristics. But the amplitude and the phase of the oscillation of the thermal hydraulic parameters of the system will be somehow affected in unstable zone if the system is coupled with point neutron kinetics.     

低温堆上空腔破口失水后期的流动振荡实验研究

在５ＭＷ低温堆的模拟试验台架ＨＴＲＬ－５上对该低温堆上空腔破口失水事故进行了实验研究。重点研究了事故后期的流动振荡现象,揭示了振荡的发展过程和发生机理。经实验研究,给出了小破口失水闪蒸过程中回路内压力、温度、空泡份额、循环流量等重要参数的变化规律,同时表明了小破口失水过程中由于压力下降引起闪蒸产生大量气泡并引起自然循环流量的变化,这些变化又反过来对各参数产生影响,使循环流量的传热情况发生周期性变化     

Effects of ship motions on natural circulation of deep sea research reactor DRX

DRX is a very small integral type PWR (750 kW_t) for a scientific deep-sea research bathyscaph. The core having a small amount of steam is cooled by natural circulation and pressurized by self-pressurization. During operation of the bathyscaph in a deep sea or near the water surface, a ship inclination or ship motions will affect the reactor behavior. This paper describes the effect of a heeling or a heaving on the thermal hydraulic behavior of reactor system, which is analyzed by improved so to simulate the effect of ship motions. The dynamics has a feature of nuclear power-natural circulation flow coupling under the condition of external forces. The analysis shows that ship inclination induces the core flow to decrease but reactor power recovers to the initial level without help of the reactor automatic control system. The heaving makes the core flow and the reactor power oscillate in phase with heaving, which are different from a density wave oscillation. Oscillation amplitudes of the flow and the power have peaks at the heaving period of 5 s. The peaks are due to resonance of the natural circulation flow and the heaving. An effective measure to suppress this oscillations due to heaving is to pressurize the primary loop by filling non-condensable gas. The density wave oscillation occurs when the reactor power increases over the rated power, and the boundary of its occurrence is analytically revealed. Under the condition of both density wave oscillation and heaving, the system shows to oscillate with the overlapped effect.     

Density Wave Instability of Sodium Boiling Two-phase Flow in a Vertical Annulus at Low Pressure

Experiments of density wave instability in a sodium boiling two-phase flow in an annulus were carried out with the parameters of heat flux from 80 to 976kW/m², inlet subcooling from 25.6 to 226.8°C, mass flow rate from 7.92 to 68.9 kg/h, and system pressure from 2,600 Pa to 0.06 MPa. It was found that the density wave instability occurred in the case of low exit quality, and the oscillation of flow rate was so large that the flow would be reversal. The lower inlet temperature, the higher system pressure and the larger mass flow rate could result in a more stable boiling two-phase flow. The oscillation period of the instability increased with the system pressure and the inlet subcooling, but it decreased with the mass flow rate. A correlation for the onset condition of the density wave instability was obtained from the experimental data.     

两相自然循环密度波不稳定性的实验研究

在自然循环水回路上进行了两相流密度波不稳定性的实验研究，得到了不同工况下的实时脉动曲线。分析了系统压力、质量流密度、进口欠热度对系统稳定边界的影响。得出了用无量纲量相变数Ｎｐｃｈ、欠热度数Ｎｓｕｂ、弗劳德数Ｆｒ表示的系统稳定边界图及稳定性判别准则式。     

Experimental investigation of natural circulation instability in a BWR-type small modular reactor

The Purdue NMR (Novel Modular Reactor) represents a BWR-type small modular reactor with a significantly reduced reactor pressure vessel (RPV). Specifically, the NMR is one third the height and area of a conventional BWR RPV with an electrical output of 50 MWe. Experiments are performed in a well-scaled test facility to investigate the thermal hydraulic flow instabilities during the startup transients for the NMR. The scaling analysis for the design of natural circulation test facility uses a three-level scaling methodology. Scaling criteria are derived from non-dimensional field and constitutive equations. Important thermal hydraulic parameters, e.g. system pressure, inlet coolant flow velocity and local void fraction, are analyzed for slow and fast normal startup transients. Flashing instability and density wave oscillation are the main flow instabilities observed when system pressure is below 0.5 MPa. And the flashing instability and density wave oscillation show different type of oscillations in void fraction profile. Finally, the pressurized startup procedure is recommended and tested in current research to effectively eliminate the flow instabilities during the NMR startup transients.     

低质量流速垂直并联内螺纹管密度波型不稳定性试验

在高压汽-水两相流实验台上进行了低质量流速垂直并联内螺纹管密度波型不稳定性的试验研究,观察到了垂直并联内螺纹管气-液两相流密度波型不稳定性的一些主要特征。在试验参数范围内就热负荷、系统压力、质量流速、进口过冷度和不对称加热对密度波型不稳定性的影响进行了研究和分析。同时根据试验结果,采用均相流模型得到了密度波型不稳定发生的界限关系式。     

热工水力参数对矩形双通道管间脉动的影响

在中国核动力研究设计院热工试验回路上进行了矩形双通道管间脉动试验.对各种热工水力参数的试验研究后得出结论:随着进口过冷度的增加,界限热流密度增大,脉动振幅增大,脉动周期变长,进口过冷度对界限含汽率的影响表现出一定程度的非单值性;随着进口质量流速的增大,界限热流密度增加,界限含汽率减小,脉动振幅增大,脉动周期变短;随着系统压力的升高,界限热流密度和界限含汽率增加,脉动振幅减小,系统压力对脉动周期的影响表现出一定程度的非单值性;根据进口过冷度数Nsub和相变数Npch绘制出的脉动界限图,拟合出判断管间脉动界限的准则关系式:Npch＝3.1419 Nsub 10.014.     

同轴型热虹吸系统轴向传热特性实验研究

对一种用于冷中子源系统的自然循环进行了轴向传热特性研究,建立了以氟里昂为工质的同轴型热虹吸管传热实验系统。研究表明:同轴型热虹吸系统可强化轴向热传输能力,其传热工况有过冷沸腾流动振荡工况、稳定工况和烧干工况3类。在低功率区,过冷沸腾和携带机制造成启动过程的两相流振荡;进入稳定工况区后,系统具有自调适能力,能够维持恒定的循环质量流率;在高功率区,蒸发器烧干产生传热极限。本研究显示出同轴型热虹吸系统的动力特性与普通自然循环系统有明显区别,其循环机制与普通热虹吸系统有本质区别。     

破口大小和二回路运行状态对核供热堆自然循环断流瞬态的影响

为研究一体化布置的核供热堆在发生破口失水事故中破口大小和从中间回路排出热量减少对断流过程的影响，选用不同的破口尺寸和不同的二回路工作状态，在５ＭＷ核供热堆热工水力模拟回路ＨＲＴＬ－５上进行了实验研究。稳态运行工况的系统压力为１．５ＭＰａ，在发生小破口失水事故后，加热功率维持为额定功率的５％以模拟剩余发热情况。实验研究并比较了不同条件下压力、温度、循环流量、液位和失水量等重要参数的变化。这些实验数据为核供热堆的安全分析提供了实验依据。